When I first read Simple Church in 2006, it was one of the most significant books that I had ever read. I have read hundreds of books since 2006, but Simple Church remains one of the most significant. Consider a section from the book:
Moving to simple needs to happen. For the sake of the kingdom, the church, and the people you serve, it is time for action. In many churches, there has been too much talk. New statements mask the same behavior and the same paradigms. New strategies cover up complexity. In most churches, nothing really changes.
The kingdom is not about chatter. It is about action. Nike has some great theology. It is time to just do it. It is time to refuse to be a programmer. It is time to design and implement a simple process that moves people toward spiritual transformation.
It is time for change. The alternative is to continue leading dying churches filled with spiritually anemic people.
Change or die. Those are the choices.
Like any church leader, I often lament our local challenges. If we zoom out from our local situations, we see those issues repeated over and over again across the country. If the SBC has 45,000 churches (in round numbers), at least 44,000 of them have the same problems. The plain truth is that most churches are designed for maintenance rather than for disciple making. The sad truth is that many people resist a design that facilitates disciple making. We often meet for the sake of meeting. We prefer the comfort of maintaining the institution as it is. May God help us.
